Leprechauns, Unicorns, and River Otters

*I am now totally convinced that river otters are mythical creatures,

and any pictures of them are the result of trick photography!*

Well, well, well... We woke up yesterday to mostly sunny skies. As soon as we possibly could, we hit the road heading west. Where to go? Yellowstone always sounds good to me, and since I was driving, that's where we ended up. We drove through some scattered showers, but by the time we came to Yankee Jim Canyon, it was sunny. This was a good thing, because several people lately have told me that they have seen otters there. 

We stopped in the first pullout, and I was certain that the otters were just waiting for me in the river below. I walked the the river's edge while Dan moved the car to the next pullout and walked back to meet me. In this way, we worked our way down the entire canyon. We saw a young eagle and a small flock of ducks, but no otters. The sun shining on the emerald-hued water was, however, soothing and satisfying. 

I was disappointed at not finding the otters, but there was still time to run for Lamar Valley. Blowing snow had made the roads interesting in a few spots, but overall, they were better than when we we were there two weeks ago. 

The same ram was on the hillside across the road, but the river had my full attention. A couple of magpies were pecking away at what appeared to be scraps of fish, so this just HAD to be THE spot! We did have the entire area to ourselves, and we had fun photographing the ducks. Unfortunately, the otters never did put in an appearance, and daylight was running out on us. 

Driving home, I came to the realization that I was once again getting way too "hung up" on getting photos of one particular species. We are so blessed to live close enough to be able to visit Yellowstone on a whim! One of these days, we are going to stumble upon otters in the river and we will get our pics. I am just not entirely convinced that I won't get pictures of leprechauns and unicorns first! 

Bonus Pics

The wind was making it pretty tough
for this magpie to keep his footing on the ice. 

I guess you could call it a "tail wind"! 

Eventually, he gave up and took off. 

I have always considered mallards the prettiest of ducks.